Killah Bee

by Kyle Eustice

Ghostface Killah brings that Wu-Tang heat
Wu-Tang Clan comin’ at cha! Well, at least one of them.
The infamous Ghostface Killah (AKA Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man) has been an integral part of the New York City crew since 1993’s groundbreaking Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Named after a character in the 1979 kung-fu film, Mystery of Chessboxing, Ghostface Killah’s persona is that of a stoic warrior. At a show several years ago at the Sokol Underground, he arrived, an entourage sauntering behind him in a militant line, and looked at no one. His mission was clear — to get on stage and murder the microphone with his lackadaisical yet potent delivery. Being an emcee was engrained in him from an early age.
“Coming up, yeah, I dreamt this,” says Ghostface. “I seen this! I seen this! I seen this! It took me awhile to get it. But, I seen this back in the ’80s. It’s like, I seen it and dreamt it, but going through the struggle to get there, I didn’t know. I didn’t keep it on my mind every day like that but, I knew that when Genius got on, then RZA was on, it was like okay, he’s on Tommy Boy [Records]. You know, how you be like, ‘Okay, yo, we’re going to do this and we’re going to do that.’ That’s how it was.”
Then, he left Tommy Boy (or, they dropped him). “Now, it’s like ‘What we gonna do now?’ Now, our hopes are shattered. We’re just out here on the block, tryin’ to put our shit on. That’s the type of shit a n**** went through,” he continues. “Once we went independent, we started walking our own dog. After awhile, we settled down like, ‘What the f*** we gonna do?’ GZA was like a scientist with his shit. I give him his points for that shit because he didn’t stop.”
That kind of tenacity made Wu-Tang the empire it is today. Each member executed a cache of solo albums and many have been critically acclaimed as well as commercially successful. Ghostface Killah’s first solo record, 1996’s Ironman, debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and solidified his soul-influenced sound. His 2000 follow-up, Supreme Clientele, would have been released a year earlier, but he was incarcerated on an attempted robbery charge therefore delaying the process. Perhaps the extra time was a blessing because Supreme Clientele album hit #2 on Hip-Hop Connection’s list of 100 Greatest Rap Albums between 1995 and 2005.
After signing with Def Jam Recordings in 2003, he is on his ninth studio album with two more in the works. His legacy to East Coast hip-hop is legendary status. Wu-Tang carved out a signature style no other collective has been able to touch. However, Ghostface is aware that the New York City rap scene is ever-evolving and sometimes lacking originality.
“It all starts within the individual, but I don’t think there’s ever going to be a time when we’re all going to be like ‘New York is going to be New York’ in hip-hop and that’s it. I think that right now, it’s over. It’s over! That’s what I personally think. Don’t get me wrong, there’s motherf***ers out there that still know how to get busy. [But] thinking Wu-Tang’s just going to run it and that it’s just ours and nobody else is going to have a chance, is over,” he asserts. “I think it’s going to be diverse. I think we’re going to have different types of music. If I make my music, I’m making it for the ones that love the music I make and for myself. You’re going to have a variety of shit, it’s just who stands out the most with their shit.”
“You can’t bring time back. Time is already gone. Everybody want to bring ’88 back,” he continues. “You can’t bring ’88 back. That was the ’80s. At no other point in life, have you ever heard of a period of time coming back or the good ol’ days coming back.”
But Ghostface might not have to bring anything back. His career is going well. Currently on tour with special guests Sheek Louch, acts like Raekwon, Brand Nubian’s Sadat X and Grand Puba have been popping up, too. Catch the Killah Bee when he and his posse swarm The Waiting Room.
Ghostface Killah plays w/ Sheek Louch (of the Lox), Frank Dukes and Maxilla Blue Thursday, Nov. 4, at Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St., at 9 p.m. Tickets are $22 ADV/ $25 DOS. Visit onepercentproductions.com.

posted at 08:41 pm
on Wednesday, November 03rd, 2010

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